Actually, there are two legal cases brewing storms in Auckland. This is how the history goes.

After TNZ's victory in March 2000, the team was decimated by Bertarelli and McCaw whose deep pockets were more than appealing. Among those hire-aways was a lawyer and rules adviser.

Some time early in 2003 Reeves had some form of disagreement with his team oneWorld and packed his bags. Being a lawyer holding important trade secrets he had binding confidentiality agreements with the American team.

In late 2002, according to oneWorld (and thus very suspect), they conducted an internal investigation and found irregularites in their acquisition of data on TNZ. Their strategy was to be forthcoming, throw themselves at the mercy of the 5-man Arbitration Panel: a brilliant strategy because it limited the confines of the case.

How this is linked to Reeves' departure is unclear, but there are no coicidences: the two events are linked. oneWorld's penalty was that point docked after the round robins.

Team New Zealand wanted a larger investigation, but would have had to open an additional case. We know they've made miracles on a tight budget, so wasting it on lawyers' new Porsches was out of the question...

In June, when the design adviser - Sean Reeves, remember that name : it may pop up in the media frequently in the coming two weeks - felt liberated from his binds with oneWorld returned some of the data back to TNZ. A couple of months later oneWorld opened legal action against TNZ; a brilliant tactical move as TNZ was not about to cough up their advisers' new Ferraris and signed an agreement essentially giving up further action in the first case in exchange for abandonment of the second case against them.

So Prada and Team Dennis Conner have decided to take up the case, not for any sympathy for TNZ but simply to get rid of an opponent. Why such an action would be brought up is a relevant question, but some kind of guilty conduct must be there. There is proof of that in the oneWorld behaviour:

• Why open a second case about documents that were 'returned' to TNZ ? Is returning a stolen item an act of theft?
• oneWorld obtained a US court judgement - a restraining order - impeding Reeves for testifying or communicating any information regarding his tenure with his American employers. Hold on... Get this: they want to shut up someone well informed of the internal secrets regarding the secrets that were stolen from competitors. Silence the secret about the secret... Convoluted...
• having realized the potential PR ridicule of their latest legal stance, oneWorld announced today that Reeves could testify after all...

**

As for the second case, one brought about by Dennis Conner alone, there is little point in attempting to dissect it. They Jury has decided to hear the case after the Arbitration Panel has heard theirs on Dec 7 & 8.

Racing is due to start on Dec 9. The Jury is not expected to work overnight and come to a decision. Can you see oneWorld being eliminated during the semis with the score tied 2-2? Immediate PR disaster for the LV and AC. No one is interested in seeing that happen.